


Every Step Forward

by Avatarconner (Huntsman_Jedi)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, Spoilers, post kh3, specuation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 03:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17800508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntsman_Jedi/pseuds/Avatarconner
Summary: After returning from the brink, Sora decides to set out on another, more lax, adventure with his two oldest friends. But things aren't as they used to be, Kairi and him are something new, he's come back from death itself, and Kairi herself has changed in his absence. It's a lot to deal with for anyone, let alone a teenager.





	Every Step Forward

**Author's Note:**

> So after KH3, we can all agree that Sora is totally coming back. It might not be soon but eventually he will, but honestly I think the guy deserves a break for a little bit. Spend time with his girlfriend, hang out with his best bud Riku, he needs this.

**Off Again**

 

** Destiney Islands **

Sora was……back.

Back with his friends, back in his home world, back in his house, back up to speed, in most if not every sense of the phrase he had returned. But unlike before where what kept him away was a year long induced coma, the fate of all worlds, or the Organization what had taken him away this time was something far more…..real.

Death.

He had died, granted he had almost died countless times on his previous adventures with Donald and Goofy, but there was no mistake or debate in what had happened to him. He had died, but he found his way back from the other side and was back here. Right at the very spot where he had faded away at, the only difference was that now he was currently sitting on the bent paopu tree’s trunk alone at daybreak instead of with Kairi at dusk. _Kairi……_ Sora thought to himself solemnly as he thought back to that day. His hand holding her’s, the lone tear that slipped down her cheek despite the reassuring smile she wore as she realized what was about to happen.

He told her that he’d be back, it wasn’t the first time he lost his heart. That ironically was also his own doing just as his losing his heart this time to save Kairi’s was, but this time it wasn’t as simile as him becoming a heartless and her returning him to his old self again. He had to work his way back to her, back to all his friends, thankfully he didn’t need to go that far to find Riku, his brother in every way but blood, who had come looking for him.

Riku of course wasn’t the only one, Roxas, Axel (or Lea rather), Isa, and Xion searched for him across the worlds of Twilight Town, Radiant Garden, even Traverse Town but to no avail. Terra, Aqua, and Ven sprung into action as well in searching the Realm of Darkness for any sign of him much like they had done for Aqua. And were met with the same results, Kairi took his place with Donald and Goofy and searched all the worlds they could find for any clue of his ware bouts. Donald told him Kairi was like a machine, no matter what got in her way she would get over and past it in search for him.

_‘It was like you back when we first met! Only she was more smart about it.’_ were the duck’s exact words. What popped into his mind was a young version of Kairi replacing him on his first adventure, and how she would have handled things differently than he would have. _She probably would have saved Alice in Wonderland by tricking the Queen into giving her up. Or maybe she would have caught Clayton’s intentions right away in the Deep Jungle._ he mused to himself before chuckling to himself. _She would have hated Monstro._

Kairi being swallowed by the giant whale? He’ll admit that looking back on the experience, it was pretty gross. When Riku told him he had to go back inside that monster during the Mark of Mastery he did gag a little bit. _Riku….Kairi…..back then things were so….simple. Just the three of us making a raft to get off the island._ he mused to himself, looking back behind him as he recalled Kairi ordering him and Riku to gather supplies for the ‘ship’. _We would have starved and turned back, I mean mushrooms and coconuts? We’d eat that stuff up by the next day._

Then there was the infamous race between him and Riku, they both wanted to name the raft something different. He couldn’t remember what the names were, it seemed too long ago, but he did remember just before the race how Riku had thrown him off his game. _“Deal? Whoever wins gets to share a Paopu with Kairi.”_ he had boldly declared. Sora, in a non-grudge holding way, blamed that for his loss, especially when Riku said he was joking about that. _Always was better at stuff than me._ the keyblade wielder thought to himself, recalling his and Riku’s talk after defeating Xemnas for the first time.

As the sun rose more on the horizon, a question formed in Sora’s mind, did Riku know?

Was it that obvious back then the bond that his and Kairi’s hearts shared? Was it even there back then? Upon thinking about it for a solid minute, Sora came to the conclusion, _No duh he knew._

Kairi, he was thinking about her again. Which wasn’t at all a bad thing but it was different now, most things with her were now. It took him a while, probably nowhere near as long as it did for her to quickly figure out, but what they had was……new. His heart never felt for someone the way it did for Kairi and she clearly felt the same way about him. Or that’s what he hoped rather, they hadn’t really had a chance to discuss it with her, but between the way they looked at each other the day he passed on, and how when she first saw him back from death, tears in her eyes as she sprinted over to him faster than he ever saw her move and covered his mouth with hers?

Lest he forget the fact that she initiated sharing a paopu fruit from this very tree with him, something that he could never ask her face to face with how the tradition went with something like that and he ended up just carving it on a wall he didn’t she would notice or see. But she did, and what did she do? She drew herself giving him one, only made sense that she would be the one to pluck them out from the tree and start the whole thing.

_‘I just want to be a part of your life no matter what. That’s all.’_ she had said, it was the way she had said to him. It wasn’t casual but from the bottom of her heart, she wanted that in that moment when it was just him and her. Sora didn’t know much about love yet…..but that seemed like it, or something like it at the very least. “You’re here early.”

Sora nearly jumped off the tree at the voice, whipping his head back he saw the very girl in question step off the bridge that connected the smaller island to the main one. She wore a soft look on her face, her eyes locked on Sora as she walked around the tree, “Hey Kairi.” he greeted with a smile of his own as she hopped up onto the trunk and scooted over to his left side, her fingers grazed over his and entwined with them together.

He could feel the callouses that had developed from using her keyblade, something he or Riku probably should have warned her about before she went to train with Axel. It didn’t bother him so much as surprise him, he always remembered her hands were soft, or they looked like it anyway. “So what are you doing here so early?” she asked, the spikey haired boy looked out to the sunrise. A small ball formed in his stomach, this was almost an exact replica of when he faded away, even their clothes were the same as that day.

But he fought it down, “Just thinking….it’s great to be back.” he said honestly, his eyes darting over to her and seeing the relived smile she had. “And…back with you….” he trailed off quietly. He could take on any Heartless or Nobody, even ones he’s never seen or fought before and come out on top, but that seemed to pale in comparison to trying to think of something flattering to say to Kairi.

The copper haired girl’s cheeks seemed to warm with the rising sun, the smile she wore broadened, “Well obviously. It’s impossible not to miss me.” she replied jokingly, making them both let out a chuckle. The keyblade wielders sat together in silence for a minute, listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore while Kairi shut her eyes and took a deep breath. “What else were you thinking about?” she asked.

Sora smiled tenderly as he recalled the two of them along with Riku at this same spot around what? Two years ago? “The old days……you, me, Riku, and that raft we thought would take us to new worlds.” he explained, feeling Kairi’s hand shift in his so her palm was covering the top of his hand. “And how we probably would have gone hungry and turned around the next day.” he added.

She let out a brief chuckle, “I thought we thought things though pretty well……I wonder what happened to that old thing.” she pondered aloud. If she had to guess, that poor raft that they worked so hard to make was probably at the bottom of the sea somewhere. “I prefer the Gummi ship, it’s much more roomy than the raft.”

Sora nodded, the ship might have seemed fairly small in comparison to other ship designs, but the Gummi ship was roomy enough inside to house a bedroom for three people, a small kitchen, and a bathroom of course with a shower. Basically everything you needed to save the worlds from the forces of darkness, “Did I ever tell you the first time I flew it?” Sora asked. Kairi’s eyes instantly gained interest and were locked on him, “Well see, Goofy thought that since I had the key, it was only natural that I fly us to the worlds. Donald agreed and plopped me right in the captain’s chair.”

“Oh no.” Kairi said in anticipation.

“Oh yeah. And what’s the first thing I do? I hit the gas and what we hear is he sound of the bottom of the ship _scrapping_ against the ground.” Sora said, causing her to cover her mouth as she silently laughed. Sora’s was much more loud and good natured, “HAHA! Donald’s face got so red I thought his head would explode!” he howled, thinking of how his friend’s sometimes hard to understand speech could turn to utter gibberish if angered too much.

As Kairi managed to quell her laughter, her form moved closer to Sora’s making the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up. “I wish I could have seen that…….but I was…….you know…..” she said, her voice dropping from it’s usual hopeful and joyous tone to a more somber and saddened voice.

Sora cursed himself, he had said something wrong and now she was sad, “Well….I always kind of thought you did.” he said, making Kairi look at him curiously as he used his free hand to scratch the side of his face like he did when he was nervous. “See I might have…..thought you were a ghost or something on that adventure.” he revealed, making Kairi look at him bizarrely, “I mean I saw you! But you weren’t really there, and when I found out your heart was inside mine I thought that maybe that you were always there watching me and……” he trailed off as Kairi suppressed the smile growing. “You don’t remember any of that?” he asked.

“I have no idea what your talking about.” she affirmed.

Sora’s head fell forward with a groan, “Aw man! And I went after all the dalmatians because I knew thought you would strangle me for not helping find the puppies.”

Kairi’s eyes seemed to grow at the mention of dogs, “What about puppies!?”

“In Traverse Town? Me, Donald and Goofy found these two dalmatians who lost their puppies and we went looking for them across the worlds.” he explained, remembering just how sad the poor dogs looked over their lost pups. He obviously would have looked for them regardless of Kairi’s presence or not, but her imaginary company just more motivation to do so.

“Wait the worlds? How many were there?” she asked, curious as to how big the litter had to have been to be spread that far.

Sora’s expression for a moment became almost horrified, “Ninety Nine.” Kairi’s face resembled his at the number. She loved animals, dogs especially but…..no, she wouldn’t take in that many…..maybe. “Still worth it. Every second of it.” Sora said proudly, Kairi nodded in agreement. “But still, I always thought…..what else don’t you know?” he asked. Kairi gave him a look, and Sora suddenly realized how bad that sounded, “A-About my adventures I mean.”

Kairi’s head craned back as she looked up at the sky in thought, the orange and red hues of the sky overhead somehow seemed to amplify Kairi’s own beauty. Sora didn’t know exactly when he started thinking of Kairi like that, like she was pretty, which she certainly was! But back in the day when she asked him or Riku how she looked their response would be about if she had sand in her hair or a mark on her somewhere. Not about how he found her attractive in some way.

But now her shortened red hair, which he admittedly missed a little when he saw that she had grown it out, seemed…..nice, not in the causal sense but….she looked attractive to him because of it way.

“Well, I know what you did leading up to…..” she stopped herself, “Your last adventure. But before that? Nothing.” she answered, the playfulness in her voice suddenly absent. “When you disappeared, I went with Donald and Goofy to a few worlds. The Toy Box, the Monster world, Hercules’ too but……Riku found you. And we all went to you.” she said, a small smile spreading over her lips that Sora shared. He remembered just how exhausted he was when he and Riku were nearly back home, Riku didn’t seem to be as tired as he was but Sora, at times it seemed like he could go for months without rest.

It took him a solid week to recover after his return but it wasn’t really a surprise, he had been going non-stop since the Keyblade War and it clearly showed.

He was almost ready to give up when they arrived. Everyone, the guardians of light plus Donald and Goofy of course. They all arrived at the last moment and stood with Riku against the darkness to save Sora. He was honestly touched beyond words that they all came for him, he wanted nothing more than to join in the fight alongside them but his exhaustion finally won out and he fell. He faintly remembered Donald and Goofy holding him up, just like they always did. The next thing he remembered was waking up just as  they got back here to the island how everyone gathered around him in a warm embrace like how they had done with Aqua after saving her from the Darkworlds.

And then his and Kairi met eyes, she pushed her way through their friends and he stood before her with what little strength he had left before embracing her tighter than he ever had before and then-

Sora glanced over and saw Kairi was doing the same, apparently she must have had a similar thought process because when their eyes met again, Sora’s face warmed up considerably and Kairi suddenly felt a lump in her throat. Initiative, that was what it was, at least that’s what she told herself when that scene appeared in her dreams and she would wake up flustered and a little giddy. She didn’t regret it, not a single bit, but while she remembered the act itself and the soft look in Sora’s eyes when she pulled away, she also remembered the loud cough which Axel made and wanted to bury her keyblade in his head for.

“So….um……did you see Riku on your way here?” Sora asked, trying to make his blush go away.

Kairi couldn’t help the chuckle in her throat at the mention of their friend, what she and him had was special but he had been actively sure not to say or do anything while their friend was present. Even though, probably unbeknownst to Sora, it was him who told her that the day before battle on this very island, that he wanted some time to himself and that he would talk with the two of them after bit. Her first instinct was to immediately tell him it was out of the question, but before she could even think of what to say he winked at her.

And of course after getting Sora home for some much deserved rest, Riku and her walked to each other’s respective homes without so much as a word before he simply said _, ‘About time.’_

Her response was silence and a smile that crept over her face, “No. But speaking of whom.” she turned around as she heard the sound of footsteps on the wooden bridge behind them. Riku approached the two and Kairi felt Sora’s hand immediately tense as though he had been caught doing something wrong, “Greetings _Master_ Riku.” she greeted playfully, knowing full well that Riku hated being called that.

The white haired boy rolled his eyes as a grin spread over Sora’s face, “See, this is why I wish you were the one who got the title.” he said accusingly at his friend, walking around the tree before leaning against the trunk between Sora and Kairi.

Sora clasped him on the shoulder, “Aw come on Riku! You should be proud! Being a _Master_ and all.” he said, causing the green eyed teen to put a hand over his face. There was now two of them, he didn’t have the strength for this, “Just wait until Axel finally manages to pass.” Sora said, making the three of them all let out a good natured groan. Suddenly Sora tapped his finger to the side of his head, “ ‘It’s Master Axel, got it memorized?’ ” he imitated before laughing out loud while Riku and Kairi tired and failed to stifle their own.

The trio settled into a comfortable silence soon after, watching as the Sun finally rise over the coast and the multicolored sky began to shift to it’s regular blue hue.

Sora looked over at Riku and Kairi, some of the most important people in his life…….and he nearly never saw them again. “So……I’ve been thinking.” he began. Kairi and Riku looked over at him curiously, “……lets go on a trip.”

“What?” Kairi asked, Riku’s expression mirroring the question. “To…..where?” she asked.

“The worlds.” Sora answered, at that both his friends shared a even more confused look with one another. “…..I mean……when was the last time the three of us just….had fun? No worrying about darkness, Heartless, Nobodies, Xahanorts, or any of that.” he explained.

“Ever since I found you?” Riku provided.

Sora shook his head, “No, I mean, yeah. I mean…..” he looked between he two of them mid smile. But it slowly faded away, “Look…..we all know that….something else is gonna happen. Not today, not tomorrow. Maybe not this month or year or even decade but……it will eventually.” he said, his tone more serious then before which took both his best friends off guard. “I know it’s sudden, and pretty out of nowhere but……remember before all this happened? We were going to see new worlds in a raft we made all by ourselves……why not do that?” he asked.

Kairi eyes watched him with concern, he didn’t sound desperate for it but she could tell that Sora had put a lot of thought into this. “If you guys don’t want to then it’s cool but…..I just thought it’d be fun.” he finished with a shrug.

Kairi and Riku looked at one another, a smile that would make the Cheshire cat proud spread over Kairi’s face, “We _do_ have a Gummi Ship.” she supplied.

“Which would be infinitely better than a raft.” Riku added, making a smile spread over Sora’s face. Riku was reminded of his younger self, wanting to get out of here and go on an adventure. That day seemed like it was decades ago despite only being a few years, but between Xahanort’s machinations and Sora’s sudden disappearance and eventual return it might’ve well have been. “But, where would we go?” he asked aloud.

“Well I was thinking Twilight Town, then maybe a few worlds I visited, then Radiant Garden, it’s been way too long since I’ve seen Leon and the others.” Sora admitted, showing he’s put more thought into this than originally suspected, much to Kairi and Riku’s surprise. Sora’s hand hovered in the air between the three of them, looking at each of his friends excitedly, Riku and Kairi looked at one another with a smile before clasping their hands over his.

* * *

 

The rest of the day was spent with the three gathering their things and explaining to their parental guardians what they intended to do. Sora’s mother, bless her heart and whom Sora felt especially guilty for leaving without saying a word before his first adventure, was surprisingly all for the idea. Telling Sora that if anyone deserved to spend time with his friends and be happy for a while, it was him.

However when the Destiny Trio arrived at the dock, Sora’s mother immediately pulled Kairi to the side, which made a pit form in Sora’s gut.

Not that there was any reason for it, his mother loved Kairi, and when he finally told her that they had started….whatever this was between them, she was overjoyed by the news. She did have to bring up a certain…..conversation with Sora…..one of which will haunt him for the rest of his days and has been actively been avoiding thinking about. But most of all she was glad that her son had found someone he cared so deeply for, and he knew that deep down she was glad it was Kairi of all people.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Sora asked Riku as he folded his hands behind his head patiently.

Riku looked over as Kairi laughed at something Sora’s mother said, “She’s your mom, and Kairi’s your girlfriend. So I’m guessing it’s about yo-“ he began before seeing how flushed Sora’s face became. It was the first time that Sora had actually heard someone refer to Kairi as his girlfriend, it sounded so……official. She was his girlfriend, just thinking that made his heart beat a little heavier. Feeling Riku staring at him he glanced over at his friend who had a smirk on his face, “Sora, calm down.”

“I know it’s just…..it’s sort of weird, thinking of her as that but it’s…..right at the same time.” he tried to explain. Riku gave Sora a look, “You know what I mean.” he grumbled out.

His best friend chuckled, “It’s called change Sora. And it can be a good thing.” he said, Sora smiling at his words, “Look you guys will figure it out, just spend some time with her.” he explained as Sora’s mom seemed to finish talking with Kairi and waved her off, their crimson haired companion approaching the duo, “Like maybe asking her about your mom?” he suggested before walking further down the dock where the Gummi ship would beam them up.

As Kairi approached him, Sora saw the amused look on her face, “So what did my mom want to talk to you about?” he asked.

The girl shook her head as she and Sora made their way down the dock, “Nothing serious, just wanted to say how happy she is that we’re going together.” she said cheekily. Seeing Sora’s face warm up a little, he flashed her a smile before glancing away, “What were you and Riku talking about?” she asked in kind.

Sora rubbed the back of his head, “Um….well…..you….and me.” he answered sheepishly. Kairi stopped, walking and Sora instantly noticed, turning around he was met with her looking at him imploringly, “Oh! No I mean……I really like this….it’s just I’m…not really sure what to do.” he admitted bashfully. His divulge causing Kairi to chuckle, her hands reached out and took his within her’s, entwining their fingers together. “I…..think I might want to take you out on a date.”

Kairi looked up at him, her eyes wide with how upfront about it he was. But she couldn’t help but smile, “That usually is what people like us do isn’t it?” she teased.

The spikey haired boy laughed, “Well yeah. True…..um, we can talk more about it later right? Riku is waiting and……and my mom is taking pictures.” he said in a more tired and irritated tone. Kairi looked over her shoulder in time to see Sora’s mother pocket a camera and try and feign innocence. As they untangled their fingers, Kairi thought of what else Sora’s mother talked to her about.

When Sora had…..disappeared. Kairi felt nothing if not wholly responsible for it, he had to pay the price for her being too……useless. She came to Sora’s mother and told her everything, she expected her to shout at her, blame her as much as she did herself, curse her out of her house and tell her to never come back but……she didn’t.

She held onto Kairi as she wept, telling her that Sora would put anyone before himself and it wasn’t her fault.

She……she still didn’t think that. If she had fought harder, better, then she never would have been captured _again_ and used to just cause Sora and her friends pain. So she made a vow to herself, to Sora, to everyone. Never again.

She joined in the search for Sora, she traveled across the worlds battling Heartless with Donald and Goofy, every fight she had with them she got a little scraped up but she didn’t care, she learned. She knew how to fight with her Keyblade, she knew that if Xemnas ever grabbed her like he did that day again she would summon her blade into her empty hand and aim for his head.

And when he was back……the drive was still there, they were safe for now, but how long would that really last?

Apparently Sora’s mother knew it as well, she just told Kairi to embrace the time she and Sora have now and to not worry about later. That was a nice thought but…..she couldn’t.

As soon as they reached the end of the dock, the trio looked amongst themselves and nodded together before the three friends dissapearied in three columns of light onto the Gummi Ship waiting in the space between worlds.

However there was a slight hitch.

“K-K-Kair!?!?!” Sora squeaked out when he saw that his girlfriend was currently in his lap in the control seat, looking back at Sora, her face as red as her hair as she realized as well their current situation. Nethier of them moved, which made the situation even more awkward until Kairi finally rediscovered her voice hiding deep in her stomach.

“I…..when you were gone I flew the ship.” she explained, when they boarded the ship, where they wanted to be was where they appeared, so whenever Sora beamed aboard the ship he desired to be in the captain’s chair. Kairi was the same while she took his spot with Donald and Goofy, so naturally her first thought was the same seat…..

The sound of stifled laughter made them both turn their heads to see Riku trying his hardest not to laugh at his friends’ predicament. Kairi slid off Sora’s lap, straightening out her skirt as they both glared at their friend before turning their attention to one another, “So…..you want to fly?” Sora offered with a smile, getting up out of the seat and offering it to her.

The princess of light smiled at the gesture and took her seat as Sora took the only empty chair, holding her hand out, Kairi summoned Destiny’s Embrace and held it out towards the window, a wormhole appeared in front of the ship as Kairi beamed. “Alright then, first stop is Twilight Town!” she declared cheerfully as she put the ship into full acceleration. The sudden shift in speed made both her friends push against their seats as Kairi let out a whoop of excitement, both of them suddenly realizing that Kairi had modified the ship’s speed to go _much_ faster than either of them were used to.

“KAIRI!!!!!!!” They both yelled out as the princess of heart turned speed demon flew them to Twilight Town at top speed.


End file.
